Beets? (Non-urgent hopefully)

[-Isla June-]

Hey everyone! I enjoy juicing and recently juiced beets. I fed it to my chickens without thinking, is it ok to feed chickens beets? Will it turn their yolks/eggs red?

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

It should be fine. There is a chance it may make the yolks a touch darker, but I doubt if it does it’ll even be very noticeable.

 

[-Isla June-]

It should be fine. There is a chance it may make the yolks a touch darker, but I doubt if it does it’ll even be very noticeable.

Amazing, thank you!!

 

[-Isla June-]

Amazing, thank you!!

Will it be good for them? Or offer any benefits?

 

[SilverBirds]

Beets are safe for chickens to eat. If fed a large amount, it can temporarily give the yolks a reddish look.

 

[-Isla June-]

Beets are safe for chickens to eat. If fed a large amount, it can temporarily give the yolks a reddish look.

Awesome, thank you both for your help!!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Its Ok, not stronly encouraged. More yellow/orange in my experience - though mine aren't real fond of them.

According to Feedipedia.org, (Nutritional Aspects Tab) you need to be concerned about Oxylates, particularly in the tops:

Oxalates​

Cases of poisoning have been reported in cows fed on fodder beet. Symptoms described were similar to those of milk fever and were alleviated by calcium injections (Price, 1954). Leaves contain large amount of oxalic acid (calcium oxalates) and should not be fed in large quantities to livestock as it has a deleterious effect on Ca status. Oxalates bind circulating Ca, a factor contributing to milk fever (Duncan et al., 1997). However, levels of oxalic acid between 3.0-6.0 g/kg DM have been observed in the roots, far below the 100 g/kg level that is considered to be dangerous (Boyd, 1991).

Nitrates​

Freshly harvested fodder beet roots can contain high levels of nitrates, which are known to cause scouring in farm animals. Scouring was observed in pigs fed fodder beet containing high levels of nitrates and the digestive disturbance ceased within two days when fodder beet with very low nitrate levels was substituted. It has been suggested that nitrates rather than oxalates were the cause of the scouring observed in other experiments (Boyd, 1991). In sows, cases of abortion in herds fed on high nitrate/nitrite fodder beet roots have been reported (Bouska, 1991).

Nutritionally, the roots are mostly carbs with a moderate amount of fiber, and low protein. Essentially, a potential corn substitute in feed (in limited quantity), which would require rearranging the rest of the feed. Beets are even lower Methionine, which is the hardest AA to supply in a plant-based diet, though better in Lysine and Threonine, on average.

I've not put them into my nutritional calculator, they just aren't frequently used in poultry feeds. Nor have I run across any studies I recall re: beet roots and poultry feed.

 

[NatJ]

I enjoy juicing and recently juiced beets. I fed it to my chickens without thinking, is it ok to feed chickens beets? Will it turn their yolks/eggs red?

Your chickens will probably have red droppings after eating beets.
That will not harm the chickens, but sometimes causes owners to worry.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Its Ok, not stronly encouraged. More yellow/orange in my experience - though mine aren't real fond of them.

According to Feedipedia.org, (Nutritional Aspects Tab) you need to be concerned about Oxylates, particularly in the tops:



Nutritionally, the roots are mostly carbs with a moderate amount of fiber, and low protein. Essentially, a potential corn substitute in feed (in limited quantity), which would require rearranging the rest of the feed. Beets are even lower Methionine, which is the hardest AA to supply in a plant-based diet, though better in Lysine and Threonine, on average.

I've not put them into my nutritional calculator, they just aren't frequently used in poultry feeds. Nor have I run across any studies I recall re: beet roots and poultry feed.

When you say tops, you mean greens? I've always given my birds beet greens, & they never had issues.

But it's good to know more about them though. Thanks.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

There are studies with laying hens being fed beet pulp. As of right now the data shows that as long as it makes up less than 10% of they’re diet, there shouldn’t be a problem. Research has also suggested that beetpulp may increase retinol content in the eggs. It’s one of those ingredients that could certainly use more research, but whether or not that happens depends primarily on whether or not it would be considered potentially cost effective for the commercial industry to use.